Prize for the Academy's Best Research Catalogue Exposition 2025/2026 goes to Serena Lee
For the third time this year, the Prize for the Best Research Catalogue Exposition of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was awarded by an international jury. The award ceremony took place on 11 November 2026 as part of the Academy's Research Day. Congratulations to the prize winner Serena Lee!
The prize of EUR 1,000 was awarded to Serena Lee for the exposition Playing the Mountain. This exposition presents a rigorous and compelling artistic research project with clearly articulated questions and sound argumentation. Its structure prioritizes readability and coherence and offers an accessible and engaging reading experience. Across a diverse range of artistic practices—including kite flying, calligraphy, musical improvisation, and installation—the exposition convincingly traces a methodological thread grounded in the principles of Taijiquan. The author succeeds in developing a language that can resonate across cultural contexts while remaining attentive to the specific context of Chinese philosophical traditions. The clear integration of text and audiovisual material, together with the flowing design and subtle use of tilted text blocks as well as its sustained commitment to noticing and adjusting, supports and extends the exposition’s reflection on movement, im/balance, and embodied experience. The jury recognizes this exposition as a rich, thoughtful, and innovative contribution to artistic research.
Jury Members: Thomas Grill, Jana Kořínková, Ruthia Jenrbekova
About the Prize: "Prize for Best Research Catalogue Exposition 2025/2026 of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna"
This prize rewards outstanding contributions to the Research Catalogue (i.e. RC Expositions) by staff and students of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. This time, published RC contributions from the years 2025 and 2026 were eligible for the competition. The aim of the prize is to promote innovative and experimental publication formats and to make artistic research widely visible internationally. The prize is administered by Art | Research | Support (kfs@akbild.ac.at).
About the Research Catalogue:
The Research Catalogue is a non-commercial, collaboration and publishing platform for artistic research operated by the Society for Artistic Research. The Academy is a portal partner of the Research Catalogue and enables all Academy members to use the Research Catalogue.